7 Holiday Gift Ideas for That Someone Who Has Everything

1- The Person Who Loves it All - Food/Wine/Beer/History/Culture

Monterey Bay Food Tours is a great way to visit multiple unique, local eateries to sample restaurant specialties at a leisurely pace, with the convenience of pre-planning and coordination by a local tour guide. The most popular tour, the Old Monterey Food Tour, runs Thursday - Sunday, starting at 11:00 a.m. This 3.5 hour, 1.5 mile guided walking tour, showcases popular areas and little known facts about Historic Downtown Monterey. If you’re of age, you also might sample beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages. If you would rather put together a unique experience for your group, we can customize a private tour for you at a more convenient time and with stops of your choice. $95 per person (until 12/21/2019).

2 - The Beer Lover

Santa Cruz Brew Cruz - Join Captain Annie, a Santa Cruz native, for Santa Cruz’s Original Brewery Tour. Catch a ride on Slow Boy, a 1964 split window VW Bus, for a public four hour tour of four local breweries. There are two tour routes to choose from, Eastside or Westside. Slow Boy can hold up to seven passengers and tours are offered Saturdays and Sundays at noon for $45 per person.

Have a bigger group? Hop aboard Betty Jane, a renovated 1989 school bus that can accommodate 8-15 people for a private tour. There are 21 local breweries and taprooms to choose from and this tour includes three of them with a pint at each for $75 per person! Both tours include lots of beer talk, brewery history and the opportunity to meet a brew master. Contact Captain Annie to put together your fun filled brewery tour today.

3 - The Coffee and Outdoor Lover

Know someone who loves camping and coffee? We’ve found the perfect gift, a Campin' Stoker Kit from Captain + Stoker Coffee Roasters in Monterey. Each kit includes a camper mug, seven steeped packets perfect for instant coffee, fire starter, matches, and cool stickers all for $35 until the New Year (normally $50)!

More into coffee than the outdoors? They have coffee subscriptions coming soon and until then, check out their holiday blend that plays tribute to one of my family’s favorite holiday movies - Son of a Nutcracker which features notes of candied apples, milk chocolate, grapefruit, molasses, and holiday cheer for $16 a bag (order online or stop by their shop to pick up a bag).

4 - The Adventure Lover

Mount Hermon Adventures located in Felton, offers two types of adventures, Sequoia Aerial Adventure and Redwood Canopy Tours. The Sequoia Aerial Adventure is a two hour tour at 30 to 80 feet high in the redwoods. Choose from three aerial trails of varying difficulty and over 40 different elements ($75 per person). The Redwood Canopy Tour is a two hour course with six zip lines and two sky bridges 150 feet up in the Santa Cruz Redwoods. Prices range from $95-$99 per person. Both adventures take two hours and participants must be at least 10 years old to participate.

5 - The One Who Loves to Cook

Book a private cooking class in your home with Chef Diego Felix of Colectivo Felix. Diego was born and raised in Argentina in a vegetarian family and he offers custom cooking classes of South American cuisine. His food is truly unique as he uses local and seasonal ingredients, so the menu changes depending on what is available. In addition, Diego is an entertainer at heart and he’ll keep you amused throughout the experience. The best part, you get to enjoy the food at the end! Email Diego to set up a cooking class for the aspiring chef in your life.

6 - The One Who Loves Puzzles

This has become one of our favorite family activities, but this isn’t just for families; grab a group of friends or co-workers and head to Escape Room 831. There are two locations (Lighthouse Ave or Wave St) and eight different themed rooms to choose from. You have 60 minutes to work with others (from 2-14 people) to solve puzzles and decipher clues to escape the room before time runs out! $30 per person.

7 - Something for Everyone

Carmel Valley Ranch offers it all from lodging to dining to a large variety of experiences. You will find three restaurants plus a market and creamery offering cheese and wine sourced right from the property, an espresso bar and market with local products for sale. Their experiences include hikes, geocaching, archery, falconry, a bee keeping experience, candle making, bourbon tasting, goat cheese tasting, infused honey tasting, plus activities for kids ages 2-12. They really do offer something for everyone!

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